Barely a month after the Ice Ferns claimed bronze at their world tournament, the country’s promising male players have gone a couple of steps better.
The New Zealand under-18 team won the gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s division three, group B tournament in Cape Town last week.
Queenstown players Joel Gerard, Lachy Boniface and Joel Patterson and Dunedin players Jack Lewis, Max Simpson and Oliver Bary — the three Dunedin lads all attend John McGlashan College — contributed to the team’s success.
Sitting second on the table going into their last game, the Junior Ice Blacks needed Thailand to beat Hong Kong, and the Kiwis then needed to beat host nation South Africa with a large enough goal difference to clinch the gold.
Thailand beat Hong Kong 5-4 in a thrilling afternoon game, leaving it all on the New Zealanders to bring the gold medal home in the evening.
The Junior Ice Blacks led South Africa 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, and jumped ahead to 4-1 after two.
They added three unanswered goals in the final period to claim overall victory.
Coach AJ Spiller said it was a "fantastic" achievement that demonstrated the team’s hard work and determination.
"After many years of tournaments cancelled due to Covid-19, this is the first time this team has played together at a world championship.
"The players have been hard at work, turning up to regional camps, working on their fitness and understanding what it means to be a team player, and I couldn’t be more proud of them and this achievement."
New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation president Andy Mills said it was a momentous occasion for the team, winning the first gold for New Zealand since 2018, which was also awarded to the under-18 men’s team.
"A gold medal at a world championship event is something these players will remember for the rest of their lives," Mills said.
"We are so very proud of them and this achievement, something they truly deserve after putting in countless hours of training in the lead up to this event.
"This result bodes well for continuing the development model the NZIHF has been implementing over the last several years and I’m sure we’ll see these players representing New Zealand on the world stage again."
The senior New Zealand men’s team will compete in Istanbul next month.
